This invention relates to a housing arrangement for use in a device which includes a key pad, a display, electronic circuitry, and a power supply unit. The invention is described herein with particular reference to a housing arrangement for certain parts of an electronic postage meter, but it will be realised that the present invention is likely to be applicable in other machines.
In the manufacture of machines such as postage meters, it is desirable to eliminate complex sheet forming and pressing and other operations on sheet metal. It is also desirable to provide some form of heat sink whereby unwanted heat generated in the power supply unit can be effectively dissipated, and it is further desirable to provide adequate shielding against radio frequency interference and electromagnetic induction effects as otherwise the proper operation of electronic circuitry in the machine may be compromised. Additionally, as well as meeting these to some extent conflicting requirements, it is desirable to have a housing arrangement which is relatively cheap to manufacture and easily assembled without intricate manipulating operations during manufacture.